A partner at a major Indianapolis law firm received unexpected news that forever changed her life. She discovered mindfulness practice and now helps countless attorneys realize how they can improve their own lives and practices.

Rising up above the town of Brookville sits the historic Franklin County courthouse, nestled into a hollow encircled by rolling hills. On most days, Franklin Circuit Judge J. Steven Cox can be found sitting on the bench inside that courthouse. But he also may be found sitting behind an easel, painting it.

Despite disappointment over the decision to close the 139-year-old law school, leaders in the Indiana legal profession said they could not have done anything to change the outcome. Selecting students, hiring faculty, developing curriculum and maintaining finances are all internal workings of a law school.

The 2018 Indiana bar swearing-in ceremony had a definite family feel as leaders in the Indiana legal profession prompted the new attorneys to remember to be polite, to listen and to always help others whenever they can.

The Indiana Senate Judiciary Committee is pumping the brakes on a bill that would allow grandparents and great-grandparents to seek visitation with their grandchildren despite estrangements with the children’s parents, with two notable Indiana bar association groups speaking out against the proposed legislation.

Around Indiana, attorneys put aside their lawyerly work recently to paint, clean, stock, harvest, weed, plant, saw and hammer. They volunteered in their communities as part of the Indiana State Bar Association’s fourth annual Week of Service, Sept. 23-29.

The 2018 Indiana State Bar Association annual meeting began last week with an intense debate in the House of Delegates over a proposal designed to make a statement about the bar’s position on hot-button topics: should attorneys be required to attend CLE programs about diversity and mental health issues?

Kightlinger & Gray partner J. Todd Spurgeon has taken the helm of the Indiana State Bar Association after being officially inducted as president Friday morning during the final day of the ISBA Annual Meeting.